My first thought when I read that headline was something to the effect of: "But that's what you ARE."

But I decided to reserve judgment until I had read the news article in its entirety (something I strongly suggest conservatives should try to do, at least once).

And what I came away with after reading the article is the feeling that the GOP wants to burnish its image. They truly want to change the public perception of who they are and what they believe. BUT, the don't REALLY want to change who they are and what they believe.

The excerpts in the following article were drawn from different parts of the article. So, if you want to get the full flavor of the article (and the comments made by many of the attendees at the GOP meeting), you should read the entire article.

As a final note, I wonder how all those angry white males in the GOP will react if and when a kinder and gentler GOP message is rolled out when they've become accustomed to the red meat they've been offered for so long.

"You're going to see a very renewed aggressive effort by this party to put on a different face," Bradshaw said on Thursday. "We've got to find a way to take our message to more people and get more votes. It's not a particularly complicated formula. We got beat; we have to change what we're doing."

First, they said Republicans must work on improving their tone when taking their ideas to the American people. For example, when discussing immigration, maybe presidential candidates should avoid phrases like "self-deportation" (Mitt Romney) and "anchor babies" (Michele Bachmann).

Henry Barbour said some in the party can appear "hostile" to certain constituencies with the rhetoric they use. The party must increase communication training for candidates, he said.

"There are certainly too many times when we've had candidates who have come across as hostile, and that's not really helpful when you're trying to win elections," Barbour said.

Robert Bennett, chairman of the Ohio Republican Party, was even more blunt.

"We need to understand that we can't come off as a bunch of angry white men," he said.

Republicans say if that means supporting a moderate candidate who can actually win over a hardline conservative who doesn't stand a chance, so be it. (You may have noticed that among the names that make up The Bobs, there isn't anyone who might be considered a "tea party leader.")

"If we're not nominating candidates that can win in the general election, what business are we in?" Barbour said. "We are in the business of winning elections."

There is one thing, however, that no one&#8212;not the committee members, elected officials or even The Bobs&#8212;seem interested in addressing, and that's whether core Republican ideas need to change.

My first thought when I read that was headline was something to the effect of: "But that's what you ARE."

But I decided to reserve judgment until I had read the news article in its entirety (something I strongly suggest conservatives should try to do, at least once).

And what I came away with after reading the article is the feeling that the GOP wants to burnish its image. They truly want to change the public perception of who they are and what they believe. BUT, the don't REALLY want to change who they are and what they believe.

The excerpts in the following article were drawn from different parts of the article. So, if you want to get the full flavor of the article (and the comments made by many of the attendees at the GOP meeting, you should read the entire article.

As a final note, I wonder how all those angry white males in the GOP will react if and when a kinder and gentler GOP message is rolled out when they've become accustomed to the red meat they've been offered for so long.

"You're going to see a very renewed aggressive effort by this party to put on a different face," Bradshaw said on Thursday. "We've got to find a way to take our message to more people and get more votes. It's not a particularly complicated formula. We got beat; we have to change what we're doing."

First, they said Republicans must work on improving their tone when taking their ideas to the American people. For example, when discussing immigration, maybe presidential candidates should avoid phrases like "self-deportation" (Mitt Romney) and "anchor babies" (Michele Bachmann).

Henry Barbour said some in the party can appear "hostile" to certain constituencies with the rhetoric they use. The party must increase communication training for candidates, he said.

"There are certainly too many times when we've had candidates who have come across as hostile, and that's not really helpful when you're trying to win elections," Barbour said.

Robert Bennett, chairman of the Ohio Republican Party, was even more blunt.

"We need to understand that we can't come off as a bunch of angry white men," he said.

Republicans say if that means supporting a moderate candidate who can actually win over a hardline conservative who doesn't stand a chance, so be it. (You may have noticed that among the names that make up The Bobs, there isn't anyone who might be considered a "tea party leader.")

"If we're not nominating candidates that can win in the general election, what business are we in?" Barbour said. "We are in the business of winning elections."

There is one thing, however, that no onenot the committee members, elected officials or even The Bobsseem interested in addressing, and that's whether core Republican ideas need to change.

My first thought when I read that was headline was something to the effect of: "But that's what you ARE."

But I decided to reserve judgment until I had read the news article in its entirety (something I strongly suggest conservatives should try to do, at least once).

And what I came away with after reading the article is the feeling that the GOP wants to burnish its image. They truly want to change the public perception of who they are and what they believe. BUT, the don't REALLY want to change who they are and what they believe.

The excerpts in the following article were drawn from different parts of the article. So, if you want to get the full flavor of the article (and the comments made by many of the attendees at the GOP meeting, you should read the entire article.

As a final note, I wonder how all those angry white males in the GOP will react if and when a kinder and gentler GOP message is rolled out when they've become accustomed to the red meat they've been offered for so long.

"You're going to see a very renewed aggressive effort by this party to put on a different face," Bradshaw said on Thursday. "We've got to find a way to take our message to more people and get more votes. It's not a particularly complicated formula. We got beat; we have to change what we're doing."

First, they said Republicans must work on improving their tone when taking their ideas to the American people. For example, when discussing immigration, maybe presidential candidates should avoid phrases like "self-deportation" (Mitt Romney) and "anchor babies" (Michele Bachmann).

Henry Barbour said some in the party can appear "hostile" to certain constituencies with the rhetoric they use. The party must increase communication training for candidates, he said.

"There are certainly too many times when we've had candidates who have come across as hostile, and that's not really helpful when you're trying to win elections," Barbour said.

Robert Bennett, chairman of the Ohio Republican Party, was even more blunt.

"We need to understand that we can't come off as a bunch of angry white men," he said.

Republicans say if that means supporting a moderate candidate who can actually win over a hardline conservative who doesn't stand a chance, so be it. (You may have noticed that among the names that make up The Bobs, there isn't anyone who might be considered a "tea party leader.")

"If we're not nominating candidates that can win in the general election, what business are we in?" Barbour said. "We are in the business of winning elections."

There is one thing, however, that no onenot the committee members, elected officials or even The Bobsseem interested in addressing, and that's whether core Republican ideas need to change.

Sounds like they want to move from a party of no style/no substance to a party of all style/no substance.

Click to expand...

Well, I think they want to do what Detroit used to do when they rolled out the new car models back in the 70s. Detroit would essentially roll out the same car with few if any improvements other than minor ones. What WAS different was the outward design of the body, grill, lights, etc. It was basically the same chassis, engine, and drive train with a new body.

And it's what ultimately got their clocked cleaned by Japan as they introduced new cars in America that were quality improvements over anything that Detroit was making. They were more reliable, as well.

My first thought when I read that was headline was something to the effect of: "But that's what you ARE."

But I decided to reserve judgment until I had read the news article in its entirety (something I strongly suggest conservatives should try to do, at least once).

And what I came away with after reading the article is the feeling that the GOP wants to burnish its image. They truly want to change the public perception of who they are and what they believe. BUT, the don't REALLY want to change who they are and what they believe.

The excerpts in the following article were drawn from different parts of the article. So, if you want to get the full flavor of the article (and the comments made by many of the attendees at the GOP meeting, you should read the entire article.

As a final note, I wonder how all those angry white males in the GOP will react if and when a kinder and gentler GOP message is rolled out when they've become accustomed to the red meat they've been offered for so long.

Click to expand...

Sounds like they want to move from a party of no style/no substance to a party of all style/no substance.

Click to expand...

Well, I think they want to do what Detroit used to do when they rolled out the new car models back in the 70s. Detroit would essentially roll out the same car with few if any improvements other than minor ones. What WAS different was the outward design of the body, grill, lights, etc. It was basically the same chassis, engine, and drive train with a new body.

And it's what ultimately got their clocked cleaned by Japan as they introduced new cars in America that were quality improvements over anything that Detroit was making. They were more reliable, as well.

Whenever I think of the state of the current GOP, I always think of the Seinfeld episodes where George realizes that every decision he's ever made has been wrong, and that if he does the opposite of what he would normally do, he'll succeed. The GOP just hasn't come to this realization yet.

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